SHOWING a lot of rust, the Filipinas absorbed a 0-4 lacing at the hands of Finland in their first international friendly match late Wednesday night at the Pinatar Arena in San Pedro del Pinatar in Murcia, Spain.
Youthful forward Oona Sevenius, 19, who plays for Italian Serie A women’s club Como, was a one-woman wrecking crew for Finland, running rings around the Philippine defense in recording a hat-trick with goals in the 24th, 43rd and 72nd minutes.
Center-back Eva Nystrom scored the other goal in the 28th in a rematch between the two squads that will play in the four-nation Pinatar Cup opening tomorrow at the same arena.
The loss was a rude welcome for Filipino-American striker Gianna Sahirul, a former North Haven High School standout, who was making her international debut for the squad handled by Australian coach Mark Torcaso.
It was also the first competitive match of the national women’s squad since beating Iran 1-0 last Nov. 1 in the second round of the AFC Women’s Olympic qualifiers in Perth, Australia.
The Filipinas open their campaign in the Pinatar Cup against Scotland, which has the highest FIFA women’s ranking in the competition at No. 25, while the Finns, ranked No. 27, take on Slovenia (No. 44), with the winners advancing for the championship match on Feb. 27.
